The Chief
by FanOfRandomThings
Summary: Jack was once Ralph's friend, but that changed completely after one conversation that tipped things and changed Jack's life. At the beginning of the book, it is said that Jack and Ralph look at each other with 'shy liking', but by the end, Jack is after Ralph's blood and life; why? Well, it all has to do with one boy who calls himself Jack's friend, and Jack's longing to be chief.


*Author's note* - Okay, I know most people kind of hate Jack, but in my opinion he didn't start out all that savage; I think he was wild, controlling, and often drew to bullying as if in some need to convince others and himself of his authority and to appease his inner need to 'always be right', but in the beginning he was Ralph's friend and he wasn't exactly a force of completely uncontrolled violence. In the beginning, the author talks about how Ralph and Jack look at each other 'with shy liking'. It's hard to imagine the Jack from the later part of the book looking at anyone with 'shy liking', nor is he Ralph's friend. In my opinion, Jack's true savagery appeared after he let the fire go out and after he left the original group, so here is my little fiction about what helped turn Jack completely against Ralph...

Jack burst through the forest, creepers tearing at his skin and pulling at his quickly growing, tangled hair. He twisted out of the clawing vines and continued running up the steep, dangerous hill; the hill that the supposed 'monster' lived upon.

'Well,' he thought angrily as he brushed tears from his face with his muddy, brown hands, 'If this beast still dares to live on this mountain, I'll find it! I'll find it and I'll hunt it down! Maybe I'll bring it back to the camp and show it off to the littleuns, just to prove I can hunt! I'll bring it into camp on a stake and show it off to Ralph and tell him to look at what I caught; they'll all look at what I caught! Then they'll have to make me chief!' The idea of single handedly catching the beast and bringing it into camp to show off seemed to amuse him, and he slowed his run just the smallest amount as to think about how to catch the beast with its yellow fangs and piercing red eyes and the foaming saliva that dripped from its mouth as it slipped through the woods searching for unsuspecting boys that could serve as its dinner...

A rustle in the leaves behind him made Jack jump fitfully in the air and spin mid leap. He only noticed now that his heart was pounding in his ears and his breath had become short from the long run. He squinted through the forest to see if he could see what had made the noise. Another rustle made the boy start uneasily and his breath catch in his lungs.

"He.. Hello?" He cursed the quiver in his voice as a leaf was tipped back into the dense foliage. Jack almost turned to run, but a human voice stopped his flee.

"Jack?" A strong boy's baritone sounded, and Jack was forced to suppress a short sigh.

"Roger, is that you?" Jack peered forward, unused to the quiet boy's voice. Roger, followed by two other boys, slinked out of the foliage and into the tiny clearing. The shadows cast by the low hanging branches and leaves gave Roger a superior look that Jack hadn't bothered to notice before. Now, watching as the dark played off of the light, Roger's face looked sharp, dominant, and hard; it almost made Jack shiver uneasily.

"We've come to join you!" Maurice smiled, "Roger said that now you've left, we're all free to go off and leave Ralph and the conch and things."

"Yeah, so we followed you. They're still doing the same, but we thought maybe you'd do different. Hunt or play or something, you know." Bill agreed.

"We're sick of Ralph, so now you're our leader." Roger declared, his voice low.

Jack's eyes flickered among the other boys, almost surprised that anyone bothered following him. He licked his chapped lips once before nodding.

"Alright then," he spoke slowly, "Glad you've seen sense. We'll hunt, we'll play, and we won't need Ralph or anyone else who doesn't see who the right leader is."

"Have you been crying?" Maurice spoke suddenly, a grin sneaking onto his face. Jack eyed him for a moment before a scowl twisted his features.

"Shut up! Leaders don't cry, don't you know anything?" Jack watched as Maurice recoiled slightly, and Jack nodded with the satisfaction of someone finally listening to him, "Now, first things first. We'll search for the beast, hunt it down, show it off to the other boys; then we'll see who wants to join the victorious tribe!"

The other boys didn't seem to quite share his enthusiasm, and Roger stepped forward.

"Jack, we should talk for a minute, alone." Roger turned to the other two boys with a frown declaring, "Get lost for minute, the chief and an' I need to talk."

The other two boys immediately turned and huddled near the edge of the clearing while Roger pulled Jack a bit into the dark of the forest. The two crouched down and Jack began tracing patterns in the soggy dirt while he waited for Roger to begin speaking.

"Now listen," Roger's voice pulled Jack out of his musings, "The kids don't want to search for any beast, they want to ignore it and search for other things, like meat; pig meat. They want a strong leader, not like Ralph, and you're going to be their leader. They need someone who can take charge, someone who will know what he wants and will get it; they need a chief who has power."

Jack nodded slowly and waited for Roger to continue. Roger never spoke, so what he was saying now must be dreadfully important.

"You will be their chief. You will rule them all! They'll all listen to you and obey you and bow before you." Roger paused, "And I'm going to help you."

"How?" Jack asked, wanting to know more about this power he'd allegedly have.

"It'll be easy, and fun. It's all through scaring them, see? Ralph, they all thought he was their leader because they were scared to be the only one to talk against him; but he didn't know how to do it right. I do, see?"

"Do what?" Jack asked, curiosity about this power gnawing at him.

"Scare them. Scare not only the littleuns, but the biguns too."

Jack paused, "Scare them? That's how to become the leader?"

"Yes, don't you see? I read all about it in this book me da had. He didn't like it, but he had to have the book because he used to teach history 'fore he had to quit his job on account of the war and join the government. You scare them, and then they see you've got real power and they'll never leave you!"

"How?" Jack asked; Ralph hadn't seemed particularly scary, and he'd been the leader, but then people left him, didn't they?

"Torture."

The word caused Jack to jerk his head up suddenly and stare at Roger in shock. The word was so unexpected and came as such a surprise that Jack didn't know quite what to say for a moment. He stared at Roger, repeating the word as his mind tried to wrap around this foreign idea.

"Torture?" He asked, almost unsure if he'd heard correctly.

"Yes, I read that in one of me da's books too. He had to do it to spies, you see. He didn't like that either, but he had to have a book on it so that he knew what to do. He used to complain about how he didn't like it, but I disagreed with him. I looked through the book and learned all about it... I can teach you."

Jack stared at Roger silently, running his tongue again over his blistering lips.

"Don't you see? That's how to get absolute power as chief; that's how you'll be like Ralph, only no one will dare leave you! That's how to make everyone respect you, fear you, serve you, and forever think of you as their chief." Roger's eyes shinned and Jack nodded slowly.

"So if I do that, I'll be chief?" Jack asked.

"Yes," Roger's voice was thick and sweet as honey; the sound of it made Jack's hair prickle with some kind of unknown excitement and power. "And I'll help you. I'll help you be chief, and I'll help you get rid of anyone who might stand in your way. I'll help you get rid of Ralph."

Again Jack balked, and Roger seemed to sense the sudden anxiety.

"Get rid of him? How?" Jack turned to the all knowing Roger.

"Get rid of him, you know? He'll try to take the power back; he'll resent you being chief the way he resents you having any power or say now. We'll have to get rid of him, together." Roger leaned into Jack, now whispering into his ear, "He doesn't like you, Jack. He never did. You shouldn't like him. You need to get rid of him; you need to see that he's disposed of, like a pig."

Jack pulled away a bit, watching Roger with some sort of strange curiosity.

"And then I'll be chief, and people will listen to me? They'll respect me? They'll play with me and be my friends?" Jack asked, and Roger nodded once.

"Just remember what I said, Jack. I'm right, I always will be. Don't doubt me, and you'll be the one they all look up to. You'll be chief. You'll be the chief."

Jack's eyes now shinned as he repeated, "I'll be the chief."

"Now come on, Jack." Roger stood abruptly, "Let's go get the others. Let's get them all ready, and then you'll be chief. You are chief, the chief."

Jack nodded as he stood and wandered toward the clearing, all of Rogers's words reverberating through his brain. "I am chief." Jack sneered."The chief."

"And I'll help you," Roger's voice echoed, "And no one will dare leave us, ever."


End file.
